The Story of Agent 017
by Admiral Thaeta
Summary: After the events of Halo 3, Dr. Halsey and the Spartans return to Earth. The Spartan IIs meet with a member they thought was long dead, Agent 017. They enjoy some RnR and soon go aboard the Infinity to aid in recovering Earth's lost colonies but meet with an ancient race that seek to cleanse the universe of all sentient life and start anew. JohnxParisa, FredxKelly and more to come
1. Spartan-017

I do not own Halo or any characters that are copyright of Bungie or 343 Industries but I do claim ownership of all characters that I have made myself for this story, and it is based upon the Halo games as well as the books so there may be parts you may not understand because you have not read all the Halo books.

This story occurs in the post Halo 3 period and the first few chapters will be Prologues which may occur before the post Halo 3 period. Please bear with me as I attempt to create everything and I welcome constructive feedback to improve my writing and also to ensure the satisfaction of you and your fellow readers.

**The Story of Agent 017**

_The war has taken billions of lives, among which were both civilian and soldier casualties. The war in which humanity had to face odds that it has never anticipated, a war against an alliance of different aliens who had far superior technology, technology that was based upon an ancient race who ruled the galaxy but are long gone from this world. The reason for their disappearance from the dimension that we exist in is to escape from an ancient evil that feeds off sentient life itself, imprisons it to wreck destruction upon worlds for nothing but the Gravemind's greed for power that will never be satisfied. The war against The Covenant lasted almost three decades, and humanity lost all its colonies except one to The Covenant Empire, Earth. Earth was humanity's last stand, the mother of all colonies. Soon the flood came and The Covenant worked with the humans to fight of the ancient foe. Soon the Gravemind was killed and The Covenant learnt the truth of the rings called Halo. Soon peace settled in the galaxy but the end of one war does not signal the end of all wars, Humanity has yet to face more challenges to restore all its colonies to their former glory, to rebuild the balls of glass into sustainable human habitat for Humanity to flourish again. –Dr. Catherine Halsey, HIGHCOM Facility Alpha-3, Zurich Switzerland_

**0900 hours**

**January 3rd, 2553 (Military Calendar) **

**Sol System, Earth**

**(Exact Location Classified according to ONI)**

A young man walked in and looked around, seemingly scrutinising every details that he could see. He slowly took his hands out of his black overcoat pocket and rubbed them together to generate a meagre amount of heat and moved over to the reception in an inhumanly fluid manner. He placed his hands heavily on the counter to get the attention of the female receptionist who seemed to be occupied with trimming her nails with her teeth.

The bouncy receptionist crunched up her forehead upon boing interrupted but soon had a dazed look when she observed the immense high of the man before her and accidentally swallowed a nail which she was supposed to spit out. The man coughed to mask his chuckle and stared at her with stony eyes and raised an eyebrow, awaiting a response from the frightened receptionist.

"H…ow m…may I he…lp you s…s…sir?" she stammered.

"I would like to see a patient who is undergoing treatment in this fine establishment," he finished with a frown.

"W…ho m…m…ight th…this patient b…b…be?" she asked with quivering lips.

_Stop being so frightened, I don't kill humans unless they pose a threat_

"I am not going eat you because I already had my breakfast. The name of the patient is Miranda Keyes," he answered, annoyance thick in his tone.

"B…but sir O…N…N…I said h…her p…p…res…ence here is cl…cl…assified, h…ow d…did you k…k…now and no c….c…vilian is all…owed t…t…to see h…her," she added with a smile but eyes that hinted fear.

"Override code S-017," he remarked and leaned against the counter.

"A Spartan!" the receptionist said under her breath.

_Wasn't the height a dead giveaway?_

"Maybe, maybe not. And next time blurt stuff out into your mind, not into the air cause people listen," he remarked.

"He…r w…ward is D…D02-09, so it is on Le…vel 2 and is f…f…found in Block D of th…is medical facility, have a n…n…nice da…y," she replied as she proceeded to sit down.

017 turned on his heels and made his way to Block D, promptly putting his hands back into the overcoat pockets. He was new to this facility because he did not visit medical facilities often and this one was built recently, right after the Human Covenant War.

This facility is remarkable due to the research on Forerunner artefacts. As such to further advance the medical industry to enable healing the injured be faster and yet cost efficient with Forerunner tech.

Once he was there he got into the lift with a bunch of civilians and what seemed scientists. He had to bend down a little so that the roof of the lift did not scrape the top of his head which got surprised and questionable glances from the other passengers of the lift which he ignored.

Once he got out of the stuffy lift, he moved to the room that the receptionist told him about, D02-09. Once he was present before the door, he did not bother to knock and barged into the room.

As he made his presence announced, several men in pure black dress uniforms without a single medal on their left breast pockets approached him without a hint of fear.

"Who might you be and state your business before we silence you," One of them said with a toothy grin, but his eyes burned with anger and bloodlust.

"Well it seems that Margaret did not tell you that I was going to drop by to pay the Commander a visit? Or are you just playing dumb hmm?" The Spartan calmly replied and sat down on a nearby chair.

"All right, we know who you are Spartan 017, but we still yet to know why you wish to meet the Commander? Is it on business or is this something personal? You should leave her because she had to undergo intensive surgery to get those Brute Spiker rounds out from her," two of them moved forward to loom over the Spartan.

The Spartan got up from his seat which cause the two in front to move back hurriedly and cause the one behind to fall, who had a distant look. He pushed the two aside and hurriedly helped the fallen ONI operative to his feet.

"Thank you so much. ONI sure loves to lie about The Spartans, you guys are really nice. I am sorry if those two are bitching with you and I sincerely apologise on behalf of them," he was about to rant on but 017 placed a finger upon his lips to signal him to stop.

"You are welcome and I understand. You seem to be new to ONI, what might your name be?" The Spartan asked with genuine curiosity.

"It's Johnny Ambrose, what might the mighty Spartan's name?" he said with a slight laugh but quickly restrained himself.

"It's Farhan, but my last name is classified," he replied with a slight arch of his lips, smile barely visible.

_And I don't even know it myself, let it be classified or not_

"Ah I see. Ok enough of small talk you want to know what happened to Commander Keyes and how she fairs right?" Johnny asked with a worried look. Farhan nodded in response and gave him a go ahead, when the other two ONI personnel left the room out of frustration.

"Well so far we know it seems that she had like a hand full of Brute Spiker rounds shot into her back by the Prophet of Truth, but 2 of them hit her spine, one went between two vertebrae so it damaged the spinal cord which cause the bulk of the complications faced in the surgery," he said with a downcast look as he shook his head in disappointment.

"But there is some good news, because of the Prophet's horrible aiming none hit the back of the skull which will result in an instant kill, and all the rounds hit muscles not any major arteries and barely missed the heart, but hit the left lung which resulted in the left one to collapse so she needs a flash cloned replacement," he continued and looked at Farhan, who had a distant look on his face.

"Hey buddy, you alright?" Johnny asked as he snapped his fingers before his face. Surprisingly Farhan did not flinch, rather inhaled and exhaled deeply and looked at Johnny with a neutral face.

"Hey don't worry? She will be fine, she is a strong and resilient Commander just like her father the late Captain Keyes," he said with a chuckle, but did not realise that at the mention of the Captain, Farhan flinched slightly.

"Why don't we sit, this will be a while," Johnny proposed as he pushed two chairs together side by side with ease.

"Thank you Johnny," Farhan said and sat in his designated spot beside Johnny.

Farhan craned his head to look behind him and saw a woman who had light blond hair and from a distance grey strands are visible, seeming around her fifties. She was wearing an off-white lab coat.

She gave me a sad smile, revealing her dimples and easing the wrinkles on her face. She slowly frowned as she looked at Farhan's physique. She looked at Farhan in an interested and awed manner, something he had never seen before.

"Are you one of them?" she asked as she finally looked at him eye to eye. Farhan grimly nodded. The elder doctor smiled, this time it met her eyes as well. "Dr. Hillary is the name, nice to meet a Spartan in person, will you please come with me to meet the Commander. She ought to have plenty of bed rest but one or two visitor wouldn't hurt I guess," she huffed as she led Farhan and Johnny to the bed. The bed was surrounded by a thick woollen curtain.

_Keep the cold out I guess_

As they moved over near the bed, he saw that Miranda was being dressed with the aid of several nurses. "Don't go in there yet Johnny, it seems she is getting dressed after the surgery," Farhan stated and placed a firm hand on Johnny's chest to affirm his point. Dr. Hillary hurried over to the bed and peeked in.

"H…ow did you know that?" Dr. Hillary moved over to them, with a baffled look on her aging features.

"Classified ma'am," Farhan replied dryly and waited. The three nurses parted the curtains and gave the Commander well wishes for a speedy recovery and finally faced them. They looked Farhan over like a lion eyeing its prey but was interrupted when Dr. Hillary cleared her throat.

"Don't you ladies have somewhere to go to hmm?" Dr. Hillary grumbled. The girls looked at the elder doctor, in a pleading manner.

"Indeed. You people should leave immediately," rumbled Farhan and gave them one of his death glares.

_If only looks could kill, something even Spartans can't do_

One whistled while the other two shared a look and started giggling as they proceeded to leave the room.

"Hope those two can keep them occupied," Johnny whispered into Farhan's ear.

"Wonder why women giggle when they look at me," Farhan thought out loud.

"To get your attention, especially if you are appealing to them," Johnny explained.

"Intriguing behaviour," Farhan said under his breath as he strolled over to Miranda's bed, Johnny and Dr. Hillary in tow.

Farhan pushed the curtain aside and was greeted with an expected sight. A sleepy Miranda lay in bed, clinging tightly to the blanket given to her to provide maximum insulation for herself.

Upon hearing the sound of approaching footsteps and the rustling of curtains, she forced her eyes open and saw the first person she wasn't expecting.

"Farhan?!" Miranda exclaimed and nearly jumped out of the bed in surprise.

_Same old, same old _

"Where am I? What is the status of The Human Covenant War? Why am I lounging in a hospital bed? Where is the Chief? Is the Prophet of Truth dead? Is the Covenant successful in activating the Halo Rings? Oh god answer my questions Spartan!" Miranda yelled at the top of your lungs.

"Calm down Commander, everything is fine. The Covenant has disbanded and the Elites have still kept their alliance with us, hunting down any remaining Loyalist ships with a hybrid team containing humans and Elites. This will further strengthen our alliance with them. All the Prophets are dead so it seems the War Chieftain have taken political roles as well," Farhan explained in a low tone only audible to her.

"But the Chief is stranded in space, there have been a dozen search teams but none have found him yet, even UEGSS fleets can't find him, I am sorry," Farhan had a sour look.

"Well the Chief is strong. Being stranded in space will not kill him, even a fleet of Covenant couldn't kill him so he can fend for himself for now," Miranda said with a reassuring smile.

"Any news on the other Spartans, let me see oh yes, Blue team hmm?" Miranda asked while taking a sip of water from a bottle of water.

"Ah Johnny? Dr. Hillary? Can you two step out for a moment? The Commander and I need to talk something personal for like five to ten minutes ok?" Farhan asked without looking at him.

Johnny nodded and gave Miranda one last look before leaving while the Doctor checked the monitors for any abnormal readings. Seeing everything is fine she left without another word. Miranda pushed her brown bangs aside and slowly eased into a laying position because she was feeling extremely tired.

"You want to know how Dr. Halsey is doing, well she is currently trapped in a Dyson Sphere but the UNSC has sent several ships to go retrieve her and the other Spartans with her, so by the time you leave this hospital she should be back on Earth along with my fellow Spartans," Farhan explained in a hushed tone.

"Let us hope she is alright brother," Miranda whispered with a she slowly closed her eyes.

"I am no brother of yours, I am a Spartan, related to no one but my fellow Spartans," Farhan replied sternly.

"What? You are my brother and you know it, you were put under Mum to protect you from ONI," Miranda replied, all trace of tiredness gone as she slowly sat upright once more.

"What ONI did wasn't exactly wrong. It was for the good of the program," Farhan whispered.

"They experimented on you! They used you like an animal!" Miranda hissed.

"Don't think me as weak, I was the first to receive it to ensure they were safe for the others, to ensure they lived to protect Earth and her colonies," Farhan replied without hesitation.

"To hell the other Spartan IIs! You were taken out of the program to be what? The guinea pig of it huh!" Miranda retorted, voice thick with disgust.

"Well if you don't like the program so much, if you think I should have been given lesser suffering so as to increase the death rate within that program then it would be possible that humanity's saviour John would have never existed," Farhan explained calmly.

"I did what was right for humanity that's all, like the way Captain Keyes gave his life for humanity to continue to progress to the peace we have been yearning for almost three decades," he continued.

"But ONI was almost going to continue their retched tests on you if not for the intervention of the UGESS, put you under the care of my mum, our mum a year or two after I was born right?" Miranda enquired.

"Yeah. The UGESS regulate the manner in which ONI carries out its experiments, like ensuring that the parents of the Spartans don't not get shocked by the absence of their child by making sure ONI puts flash clone replacements, ONI doesn't exactly like to follow standard protocol you know," Farhan said with a dry chuckle.

"We will discuss this another time. Anyway how long till mum arrives back on Earth from the Dyson Sphere you said she and the other Spartans were trapped in?" Miranda asked as she slowly slipped into slumber.

"Seven days, give or take two," Farhan rumbled as he parted the curtains, informing Dr. Hillary about Miranda's status and left the facility without another thought.

**A.N.: This is the prologue, to make sure that everyone understands in my story Miranda isn't dead, please bear with me because it may be confusing but it has an element of mystery at the beginning but I promise it will be a sci-fi and a romance story as well. It will have much more battles and action and it will be based upon more characters in the Halo books and games and UEGSS is a secret service which is larger than ONI and regulate what ONI carries out, their role will be explained later in the story. I welcome PMs also to give me ideas. Thank you my readers and enjoy the following chapters that will be out sooner or later. ****And please favourite and follow this story.**


	2. Lost Companion

I do not own Halo or any characters that are copyright of Bungie or 343 Industries but I do claim ownership of all characters that I have made myself for this story.

**1900 hours**

**July 27****th****, 2523 (Military Calendar)**

**Epsilon Eridani System, Reach**

**(Exact Location currently Unknown)**

"This will be the plan we will be carrying out, do not hesitate to clarify," Farhan announced awaiting any question. When none came he gave Frederic a nod before moving back to where John stood.

"This should be easy, as long as Tango Company uses stun rounds," Farhan sighed. John briefly nodded before returning his attention to Fred.

"So we will split up into three teams, Alpha, Delta and Gamma. Alpha will infiltrate the enemy base to capture their flag. Delta will help secure our LZ and Gamma will be protecting our base from them, such that we have both flags at the end of this wargame, clear?" Fred yelled. A chorus of 'Yes sir' and 'Affirmative' followed after which he announced the member of each individual team.

During the infiltration of the enemy base, William accidentally forgot to subdue one of the guards completely, which somehow enabled the suffocated marine to raise the alarm and call all their units back to base. By the time John and Fred reached the flag, the base was overrun by them.

Linda was even more surprised when they started using live rounds, and found it out the hard way, Farhan got shot on the right thigh. Just like John, he was as stubborn as a mule and refused the aid she wanted to provide, but of grateful of it nonetheless.

_The suffering of war isn't felt when one is injured, it is felt when those you hold dear are injured or die before you and you are powerless to help them_

When all hell had broken lose, Serin and Kelly were captured by Tango Company but every other Spartan was focused on the flag and only Farhan and Linda noticed their absence because the four of them were in the same squad.

"I believe that Serin and Kelly have been captured, because the flag is with John and Fred, so we have completed the objective. Once the objective is completed we should have regrouped at our designated rendezvous point but they aren't here for quite some time," Linda said with a hint of worry in her voice.

"I will take the rear because I am slower with my injured leg, I can't believe they are using live rounds," Farhan whispered as he gave the sniper rifle he picked up to Linda, which was still in operational condition.

Linda nodded and the two moved deeper into the base, staying sharp for any noises. 'Heard muffled noise from the room ahead let's move in' Linda hand signalled to Farhan.

The door was ajar so Linda peeked in and was shocked to see Serin and Kelly gagged with their hands and legs tied to wooden chairs. Their eyelids were droopy and their eyes had a glassy look. Their attempt to escape was currently minimal but around them there was some blood on the floor that has not dried completely.

_They must have put quite a fight, but they seem drugged. First live rounds now drugs, what's next I wonder_

'Proceed with caution, they have been drugged. Currently two visible hostiles, you take right I take left' Linda informed Farhan. Farhan nodded before being interrupted by a guffaw from within the room.

"Three. Two. One. Mark." Linda and Farhan barged in and took out the two guards, one of them was taking off Serin's clothes, which were scattered on the floor, while the other was watching attentively as she struggled helplessly.

_How dare those bitches try such a thing on my fellow Spartans!_

After taking Serin's bonds off, Linda proceeded to Kelly while Farhan aided the shaken Serin to wear her garments. Kelly looked at Linda with dreamy eyes but behind that Linda could see gratitude.

"Shh, it's ok. It's just me and Linda, don't be afraid. We came in the nick of time," Farhan reassured as he helped Serin wear her bra and shirt. Serin gave Farhan a quivering smile before whimpering.

"Let's go, we have successfully saved them, now time for an exit," Linda said while clearing her throat to get Farhan's attention. Farhan looked in her direction and mouthed 'jealous' which cause Linda to blush furiously and receive an airy chuckle from him.

_Kelly hasn't been drugged as badly as Serin, she could help us_

Farhan hoisted Serin over his shoulder while Linda and Kelly, who took the pistol from one of the fallen guards, took his front and rear respectively. "This place is filled with Tango bastards, so we have to get to the LZ via water. There is a river beside this base and what's convenient, its current takes us to a spot closer to the LZ. Our advantage," Farhan explained as he checked that Serin was in the most comfortable position before looking back at the other two Spartans.

"But my sniper rifle will get clogged with water and stuff," Linda pouted slightly before quickly putting a neutral face.

"It's our best chance if you want to live to see another sunrise," Farhan affirmed before proceeding for the door. They finally got outside the base, seeing none of the marines within the base which was surprising.

When he looked outside the base, they saw a huge firefight going on there between the Spartans of Alpha team and marines of Tango Company. "All Spartans this is Sierra 117, fall back to base, I repeat fall back to base immediately," John's amplified voice was barely audible over the din outside their base.

"Perfect. Now quickly get to the river, I will cover you guys, now go!" Farhan took Kelly's pistol and frantically waved his arms for them to go, before focusing on giving them covering fire.

Linda gave her sniper rifle to Kelly and carried Serin on her right shoulder. When all was set she started to run after Kelly, who even when drugged could sprint with ease. She looked back to see Farhan was struggling to hold the marines of with just a pistol, and suddenly he fell onto the ground, flat on his back.

_No, no this can't be happening! I can't lose my friend like this!_

Tears threatened to blur her vision as she slowly felt her body numb and slightly lose her grip on Serin as she looked ahead towards Kelly who was waiting at the river bank, her face one of remorse and her eyes shone in the moonlight.

_I am not the only one it seems_

Linda's thoughts were interrupted by Serin shifting on her right shoulder and mumbled something inaudible to her, which was cut short by the deafening sound of Battle Rifle and Assault Rifle fire.

Linda reached the bank and looked back to see Farhan limping towards her while peppering the advancing enemy with a precision weapon. "Why aren't you in the god damn water yet! We will talk about this later!" Farhan yelled in frustration as he pushed Linda into the water, causing the three of them to descend into the water with a large splash.

Farhan quickly helped Linda and Serin to resurface as he called out to Kelly, who was not far off, to help him. Linda quickly recovered from the initial shock of being push into the water so suddenly and swam ahead with Kelly while Farhan held Serin with one hand looped around her waist while using the other to swim after them.

Kelly reached the rendezvous point near the Spartan's LZ first and helped Linda out of the river. Kelly pushed her damp brown bangs aside while Linda pushed her damp red hair back and looked back at the river, looking for Farhan and Serin.

She felt slightly infuriated at the thought of Farhan, his attitude when he saw her waiting for him and how he resorted to pushing her and Serin into the water violently but realised he did it because he wanted them to be safe and unharmed if not his efforts would have ended up futile.

"Hey Linda, they are coming our way," Kelly snapped her out of her thoughts and brought her to the present. Kelly pointed in the ten o'clock direction and she could see Farhan struggling to keep Serin and himself buoyant.

Linda and Kelly went into the water as they were close within reach and dragged them into shore. Serin seemed fine and attempted to stand up with Kelly's help but Farhan started to cough out water which caused Linda to worry.

"Don't wo…orry I am f…f…fine," Farhan sputtered as he got up from his lying position on the river bank and appointed Kelly to lead them to their LZ cause he felt a bit light-headed. They trudged towards the LZ which was not too far away.

Not long after, they arrived at the LZ which was a large clearing with occasional scrubs and small trees. Two Albatrosses were standby at the LZ, the area heavily patrolled by Delta team Spartans.

"About time you arrived Farhan, you took forever my man," Sam said with a full out grin as he lowered his Assault Rifle and patted Farhan heavily on the back, causing him to cough a bit once more.

"Yeah, I am still alive. It will take more than live rounds to kill the Spartans. Tango Company can never defeat us," Farhan laughed but restrained himself before coughing again.

"Anyways where is the rest of Alpha team? You, Linda, Serin and Kelly are the only ones here," Sam inquired as Kelly and Linda led Serin away.

"Alpha was supposed to retreat back to base by John's order, but we improvised because Serin and Kelly were captured and crap, so Linda and I had to improvise and used the river to our advantage," Farhan shrugged.

"Well you should go talk to the Chief. You defied John's order and he is your superior, so the Chief wouldn't be pleased," Sam whispered. Farhan nodded and patted Sam on the back before going to look for Mendez, while Sam returned to patrolling.

Farhan looked around and asked a few of the Spartans where the Chief was and finally found him beside the Pelican, talking to Fhajad. "Sir," Farhan said calmly as he saluted the elder officer, who saluted back.

"You defied orders Petty Officer," Mendez growled.

"Well I defied orders when my fellow squadmates were captured and required immediate medical attention due to the drugs used by Tango Company, so as my duty as squad leader I made sure they all came back alive and quickly. Rather than going back to base we came to the LZ due to Spartan 019 requiring immediate medical attention, as well as Spartan 087 sir," Farhan replied, still standing in a rigid manner.

"At ease soldier. Your judgement is correct for this situation but next time follow orders more sincerely. Is that clear soldier!" the Chief yelled.

"Sir, yes sir. Permission to go back to base to bring Alpha and Gamma team to the LZ with the aid of Spartan 084 sir," Farhan stated.

"Permission granted, and don't dilly-dally this time Spartan. Dismissed," the Chief turned on his heels and entered one of the Albatrosses.

"Let's go Fhajad, you heard the Chief, no dilly-dally this time," Farhan stated as he walked towards Linda, who was helping Kelly take care of Serin's condition.

"Do we have to visit your girlfriend before leaving?" Fhajad grumbled.

"Correction, good friend. Is Kelly John's girlfriend then?" Farhan countered.

"Fine you win. You always do, like John. Humph!" Fhajad crossed his arms over his chest, defeated.

Farhan went up to Linda and tapped her shoulder. "Yes Farhan," Linda asked without looking at either of them. Fhajad looked slightly baffled at Farhan before putting a stony face, while Farhan cracked a small smile.

"Fhajad and I are going back to base to round up Alpha and Gamma team to come to the LZ, so stay here. Delta team will keep you three safe," Farhan told the female Spartans before leaving, but was stopped when a hand tightly grasped his left forearm.

"I am coming with you no matter what," Linda decided.

"No, Serin needs your help and support so best stay here," Farhan said adamantly. Kelly and Fhajad shared a look before looking at the pair.

"No, I am coming and you can't stop me," Linda hissed, clearly annoyed.

"Really? Well I have got news for you Petty Officer, you are staying here and that's an order!" Farhan growled, fists clenched.

"Sir, yes sir," Linda whispered as she went back to tending Serin with Kelly. Farhan face was of remorse but instantly hardened as he got focused on the task at hand.

"Let's go Fhajad, we have no time to lose," Farhan mumbled as Fhajad nodded in agreement. Farhan took a Battle Rifle and Pistol, not bothering to take extra clips of ammo while Fhajad had same choice of secondary weapon but took the Assault Rifle instead. Once they were set they made their way for their base.

The jungle terrain where most of the Spartan wargames is of great advantage to them when against Tango Company marines due to the ability of climbing and blending with the environment helped them win even though the enemy didn't play by the rules.

"Alpha team, Gamma team, assemble!" Farhan yelled, and soon all of the members of both teams were present before Fhajad and himself.

"Alright, you all know we have been successful in completing the first objective, now we will move to the LZ, is that clear!" Farhan continued, which was followed by a few 'Yes sir' and 'Affirmative sir'.

John and Fred came forward and started issuing order for distribution of weapons found in the base, just in case Tango Company tried to pull anything off. Farhan and Fhajad patrolled the area as Alpha and Gamma took up various firearms and got prepared to leave.

"You know you were a bit harsh on Linda sir," Fhajad tried to start a conversation.

"I don't really want to talk about that now Fhajad, let's stay sharp," Farhan replied carefully scrutinising the surroundings for any sight of movement.

Fred ran over to them and notified them that all the Spartans at base are ready to move, so to join them. Fred returned to John, Farhan and Fhajad in tow. "Sir, we should get moving before the Chief gets more annoyed," Fred told John as both of them each took an Assault Rifle.

"All Spartans, move to the LZ as fast as possible, go go go, double time!" Fred signalled everyone to move out as he, John, Fhajad and Farhan proceeded to the LZ.

"Farhan, being with Linda for so long has made you prefer accurate weapons I see," John implied as they sprinted towards the LZ without any precautions, thinking that Tango Company has completely given up.

"Yeah pretty much John, though you spending a lot of time with Kelly hasn't made you run faster it seems," Farhan replied with a slight laugh.

"Eh Farhan, you always have a way with words eh," John grumbled.

"Like the way you are so exemplary in leadership John," Farhan tried to make his brother feel better.

"Yeah you are right I guess. Even though we are twins we are still very different," John replied as he sped up, seeing Fred hasten his pace.

"Everyone is unique sir, now enough of chitchat, I saw movement among the foliage," Fhajad stated before an eerie silence settled, the only sound being the constant drumming of footfall and the crunching of leaves below the soles of the dashing Spartans.

The silence was shattered when something heavy fell on top of Farhan. Fred and John kept on running, oblivious to the threat but Fhajad stopped and looked back. Farhan recovered and attempted to push the thing off of him when suddenly it drew out a curved hunting knife.

Farhan, trusting his instincts, barrel roll to the side. The attacker buried the knife into the spot where Farhan was, growling in frustration. "Openfire Fhajad!" Farhan screamed as he got to his feet as quickly as possible.

Fhajad complied and took out the assassin with stun rounds, and scanned the vicinity, found no one else which was strange. "All clear it seems," Fhajad replied, still holding his gun at ready. Once certain that no other threat was present, Fhajad went back to Farhan, who seemed to be inspecting the assassin.

"Strange, Tango bastards don't use this kind of armour, it's all black and he isn't equipped with anything else other than his knife. Eh must be an overconfident special ops or stealth specialist," Farhan mumbled as he picked up his Battle Rifle as was about to head towards the LZ once more when he felt his left leg locked in place.

Farhan arched his neck to look behind, to see the assassin have a smirk plastered on his face. The assassin got up and with quick reflexes got Farhan in a headlock and applied pressure, causing him to lose consciousness almost instantly. The assassin threw his knife at Fhajad, who in defence raised his Assault Rifle, causing the knife to sink into the gun, effectively jamming it.

Fhajad was powerless, unable to take the assassin out and one wrong move could compromise Farhan's life. "Leave now kiddo and I won't do anything to your precious little friend here," the assassin gave an evil smirk.

Fhajad left without another word, and looked back once more to see the assassin shoot Farhan with a pistol in the forehead, causing Farhan to convulse and slump once more, blood flowing down his face. The assassin hoisted him over his left shoulder roughly, a Warthog arriving to his location shortly. Both of them got aboard and it drove eastwards, soon out of sight.

Fhajad finally reached the LZ, seeing everyone within the Albatrosses, ready to leave. Fhajad slowly enter the nearest Albatross, looking back to see if Farhan managed to escape and return.

"Where is Farhan?" a female voice rang in his ears, the last voice he wanted to hear right now. Fhajad nervously turned around and looked at Linda who had her arms tucked neatly behind her back, waiting patiently. Fhajad looked left to right and then behind, hoping Farhan would somehow return, but he did not. He looked back at Linda and looked at the floor, running his finger through his hair, trying to calm himself down.

"Hey Fhajad, why are you so nervous? It's not like you are going to confess to me or something right?" Linda said with a smile, but looked at Fhajad with a serious gaze," You aren't confessing right?"

"No, of course not Linda. It's just F…Farhan d…d…id't ma…ke i…it," Fhajad stuttered, finally looking at Linda's eyes as he took the curved knife out of his Assault Rifle, giving it to Linda with shaking hands.

"H…he wha…what?" Linda looked at Fhajad, horrified.

_We did not part on a happy note, and now I will never see him again!_

"Linda, you going to be ok?" Fhajad asked, his voice thick with remorse. He should have never left Farhan back there.

"I will be fine, just need some alone time," Linda mumbled as tears threatened to overflow. She tucked the knife away and went back to Serin, thinking that keeping herself busy might help.

Upon seeing Linda in that state, Kelly and Serin both shared a glance before mentally preparing themselves. Kelly was sitting beside Serin on the floor, so Linda sat beside Kelly quietly.

_Why must the world be so damn cruel?_

"S…so h…how are yo…u S…S…Serin?" Linda asked as she frantically tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. She looked at the other two females and tried to give them a smile but shuddered and lay down on the ground in a foetal position, unable to stop the tears any longer.

"It's alright Linda, he did this to ensure that we win, I understand the pain you feel," Kelly said soothingly as she tried to ease Linda to a sitting position but she would not budge.

"You don't understand how it feels, but someday you will," Linda whispered as she slipped into slumber.

* * *

**0500 hours**

**January 9th, 2553 (Military Calendar)**

**Sol System, (Within Slipspace)**

**UNSC Port Stanley **

Linda's eyes snapped open, as she inhaled the cold air of the cryo-chamber. She attempted to stand up and knocked on the glass, getting the attention of a nearby technician who hastily opened her pod.

"Ah m…m…a'a…m ar…e y…you al…r…right," the technician stuttered as Linda loomed over him, his face directly in front of her breasts. The technician slowly looked down, pushing his arms out which held a fresh dress uniform.

"I am fine. Please send someone to notify me once Port Stanley docks at Earth," Linda said with a slightly cracked voice, her dream still fresh in her mind.

_Dream or memory?_

"Al…right, pl…ease wear th…ese, I w…ill b…be g…g…going n…ow," the technician informed her before hurriedly leaving the cryo bay.

Linda nodded, even though he did not see it and quickly donned her grey attire and went out to look for Serin. She checked her uniform, thinking when the last time she felt fresh air on her bare skin.

She made her way for the bridge, reaching there quickly due to her long strides. She looked around and finally saw Serin talking to her second in command. As the Captain and second in command finished their conversation and saluted one another, Serin looked back to see Linda.

"What do you require Petty Officer?" the Captain asked, clearly sleep deprived.

"Ma'am I wish to speak with you in private," Linda's replied after crisply saluting her superior. The Captain grew wide eyed and nodded, leading Linda to her private office.

"What is it Linda? And why are you up? The thawing process for all cryogenically preserved personnel isn't supposed to start till we are an hour away from docking," Serin sat down as she intertwined her fingers.

"Cryo releases an inhalant that affects the duration of cryo sleep right? Well does it affect what we dream or help us relive a memory or something?" Linda asked, her hands tucked to her sides neatly.

"May I know why you are asking this Linda? Go straight to the point," Serin ordered.

"Well, because I saw the memory when he…," Linda whispered, blinking profusely to prevent any tears from gathering.

"Ah, I am sorry Linda but what he did was for the good of us Spartans. What would he think of you if you are still morning for you hmm? He sacrificed himself because he thought we were worth it, so don't diminish his judgement," Serin tried to console Linda.

"And why do you talk about this to me? Why not Dr. Halsey? She understands each one of us way better than we might think and she is up and about, didn't bother to go into cryo," Serin Stated.

"Twice I talked to her about Farhan, and she would have a sad face but her eyes, they don't show sadness, rather they shine with happiness which I don't understand. She seems to be happy about it, but putting up a sad look to cover it up," Linda said, looking down.

"Come on, let us get some rest. We will be leaving Slipspace in three more hours, and dock at Earth an hour after that, so get some rest ok?" Serin proposed as she got up. Linda nodded and mumbled a quick thank you before leaving the room.

She soon found the nearest sleeping quarters with BB's help and decided to practice some Zen before getting going to sleep. But once she lay in bed did she realised how exhausted she felt, and fell asleep without intending to.

**A.N.: Chapter 1 is out, along with bits and pieces of the mystery being revealed. To clarify, Linda and Farhan were best friends, but will they become something more once they meet? Maybe, maybe not, let's find out shall we? Thank you for reading and enjoy, and please be patient with me, this is my first fanfiction a****nd please favourite and follow this story.**


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